Overcomer: Finishing Strong

2016-08-14 
Pastor Jonathan Falwell 

Memory Verse
Deut. 31:6 NKJV
“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

Deut. 34:1-8 NKJV
1 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is across from Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan,
2 all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, 3 the South, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. 4 Then the LORD said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.” 5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. 6 And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day. 7 Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished. 8 And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days.

Finishing Strong

Moses led a life of power and deliverance. The word overcomer can certainly be applied to who he was as a person and what he accomplished for God. But, as with all of us, there are moments in the midst of following God where we once again fall. In Moses’ life, one of those moments happened in Numbers 20.

– Wilderness of Zin
– No water
– In verse 2, the children of Israel rose up against Moses and Aaron
– Why didn’t you just let us die in Egypt?
– God spoke to Moses to speak to the rock, yet Moses in anger struck the rock
– God told Moses:
Num. 20:12 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”

Moses had led Israel through so much, had delivered them from Egypt and was heading towards the finish line, the promise of God. But because of disobedience, here God told him you will not see the promised line.

How discouraging…he could have given up, but no. Moses continued and finished strong. How?

1. He didn’t let his past failure stop him from his future obedience

– In the same passage in Numbers 20:27…God once again told Moses what to do and it says, “So Moses did just as the Lord commanded…”

2. He continued to lead

– In Numbers 20:28-29, as Aaron died, Moses led the next generation, Eleazer, to serve.

3. He continued to bless those around him

– In Deut 32 and following, Moses knowing he was nearing death, began to pour out blessings of those around him.
– He blessed each of the tribes
– He blessed Joshua
– He was ensuring that nothing would stop the work of God

– KEY POINT – It was God’s work, not Moses’

Deut. 31:1 Then Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel.

Deut. 31:2 And he said to them: “I am one hundred and twenty years old today. I can no longer go out and come in. Also the LORD has said to me, ‘You shall not cross over this Jordan.’

Deut. 31:3 The LORD your God Himself crosses over before you; He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua himself crosses over before you, just as the LORD has said.

Deut. 31:4 And the LORD will do to them as He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites and their land, when He destroyed them.

Deut. 31:5 The LORD will give them over to you, that you may do to them according to every commandment which I have commanded you.

Deut. 31:6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

Finishing Strong has far less to do with your weakness and far more to do with His strength.

We must focus our lives on total dependence on God, even when we blow it, and God will allow us to continue to reap the rewards of the committed life.

Deut. 34:7 Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished.

Deut. 34:8 And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days.